Although the Chinese regard it as an inferior product, it is greatly esteemed by the Tibetans for its powerful flavor, which harmonizes particularly well with that of the rancid yak butter which they mix with their tea. Ya'an is the main market for a special kind of tea which is grown in this part of the country and exported in very large quantities to Tibet via Kangting and over the caravan routes through Batang (Paan) and Teko. The pressed blocks of tea are then left to dry in storage until a suitable degree of moisture has evaporated. Many powdered tea bricks are moistened with rice water in pressing to assure that the tea powder sticks together. Such presses may leave an intended imprint on the tea, such as an artistic design or simply the pattern of the cloth with which the tea was pressed. To produce a tea brick, ground or whole tea is first steamed, then placed into one of a number of types of press and compressed into a solid form. A large, flat, square brick is called fángchá (方茶, literally "square tea"). A larger piece around 375g, which may be a disc with a dimple, is called bǐngchá (饼茶, literally "biscuit tea" or "cake tea"). A dome-shaped nugget of 100g (standard size) is simply called tuóchá (沱茶), which is translated several ways, sometimes as "bird's nest tea" or "bowl tea." A small dome-shaped nugget with a dimple underneath just enough to make one pot or cup of tea is called a xiǎo tuóchá ( 小 沱 茶 the first word meaning "small") which usually weighs 3g–5g. The compressed tea can take various traditional forms, many of them still being produced. Tea bricks are still currently manufactured for drinking, as in pu-erh teas, as well as for souvenirs and novelty items, though most compressed teas produced in modern times are usually made from whole leaves. Tea bricks were preferred in trade prior to the 19th century in Asia since they were more compact than loose leaf tea and were also less susceptible to physical damage incurred through transportation over land by caravans on the ancient tea route. Newly formed tea bricks were then left to cure, dry and age prior to being sold or traded. Some tea bricks were also mixed with binding agents such as flour, blood or manure to preserve their shape so they could withstand physical use as currency. In ancient China, compressed teas were usually made with thoroughly dried and ground tea leaves that were pressed into various bricks or other shapes, although partially dried and whole leaves were also used.
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